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Show Vernal Guardsman Kelly Collett is warmly greeted at the Salt Lake airport by wife Sandi and daughter Swayzi. Collett, who must always remain armed, enjoys humanitarian activities with local school children after their assignments are over. VERNAL AREA CHAMBER TURKEY PAYS Sponsored by: Uintah CounryVcrnal City Economic Development Sl: Phosphates & Ashley Valley Medical Center Vernal Area i k ' By Maureen Spencer Express Writer Chamber of Commerce for the (Hind (or Himncu, 1 (ond (.ommunitv QST at Cobble Rock Park 10:00 a.i ri e to mi. itbi ic - Only one ticket ter persons 18 & older please. Saturday, November Soldiers family gathers for early Thanksgiving celebration iter T Wm A ME TwfeyS Count how many times the word TURKEY appears in display ads in this issue of the Vernal Express? All forms of the word Turkey count Only appearances in display ads count Answers will only be accepted Thursday, November 20, 2003 between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Call the Vernal Express at 789-351- 1 Or Come To The Vernal Express Office, 54 N. Vernal Ave. Correct answers will be entered to win a gift certificate for a frozen turkey 5 winners will be chosen: Friday, November 21 We will contact the winners and publish the names in the following paper. Thank You To Our Sponsors: Utah National Guardsman Spc. Kelly K. Collett doesnt know where to start in telling the tale of his deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. What he can tell you instantly is that hes been glad to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with his large extended family a couple of weeks earlier than most folks. Nearly 50 joined the soldier to celebrate with everything good to eat they could imagine. Only one person mifsed the reunion. Brother Colby Collett is serving an LDS mission in Costa Rica. Kelly will leave Vernal for Iraq on Nov. 18, and Colby will return from Costa Rica Dec. 1 8. Colletts family gathered to share his brief rotation break as he visited his wife and daughter Vernal. Collett left Baghdad on Nov. 1, arriving home Nov. 3, and he says it was all worth it even though he spent over 20 hours in a plane, riding buses and waiting in lines. Collett was concerned his daughter Swayzi, only six months old when he left, would not know who he was or warm up to him. After a few minutes of receiving his fatherly attention at the airport, he discovered that his concerns werent justified. When talk turns to Baghdad and Iraq, Kelly says all of the men try to keep a positive attitude. He was impressed on his trip home that everyone he encountered was good to him and fellow traveler Pfc. Brad Pinnecoose of Fort Duchesne. He says the support started at the airport in Kuwait. Weve been grateful, Collett. Strangers would come up to the two Uintah County Guardsmen and thank them for what they were doing. Life has changed dramatically for this man who was studying computer science, had returned from serving an LDS mission in Sacramento, Calif., and had married his sweetheart Sandi. Life seemed well organized and predictable. Then came the activation call for Detachment 1 B Company Third Platoon of the 1457th Engineer Battalion Combat. He became a husband and father on his w ay to war. Mtorosu (3a? in Cftewi. flfH, MMffl as teas WISH) Ihtililcltifili) mi The Vernal Guard 1457th is an engineering unit, one that builds what is required. This training has put the men in a better position than some, as their ability to build what they need for themselves, comes in handy. They also help to make living conditions better for others. The Vernal soldiers are still in tents and on cots. Even though the weather is starting to get cold, they still have their air conditioners on low fan. Somehow it keeps us warmer, he says. It got down to 45 degrees the day Collett left Iraq. The first time I saw clouds since I got there was two weeks ago. Its been a really dry summer, he says. Summer temperatures hovered between 120 and 140 degrees. We got climatized in Kuwait for two weeks when we first got there. We had to do it before we could go to Baghdad. We had to get used to the food and drinking water, he recalls. He also had to get used to the food and water when he returned home. By the time he was discussing his Iraq experiences his nose could identify exactly what his mother was cooking for lunch in another part of the house. The troops ate MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) for the first four months. They come in brown plastic bags. Usually they dont fill you up, but they are really high calorie. The high calorie content helps the men keep up their strength. The troops alwaxs have to eat to keep from getting sick or He says that everyone had to get used to dunking so much water because the perspiration pours off of the troops, especially off of a soldier that has to wear a flak jacket continually for protection. In Kuwait, youd see men with lines of white dry salt on their uniforms when they took the flak jackets off. It was from their sweat, Collett savs. According to Collett, a helmet feels heavy, like boiling your brain when a soldier is in full uniform. The preparatory time at Fort Lewis, Wash., was good for the men to be completely sure that they had qualified for everything that they had to do. They also got their shots, dental and paperwork in order. The job that Collett does in Iraq includes building bunkers for observation bases and for protection of others. He says their Battalion has had a hand in about everything done in Baghdad from clearing main and supply routes to helping Iraqis clean out live discarded ammunition lying around their homes. He has gone sw imming in a palatial pool at one of Saddam Hussein's homes. It felt weird and creepy knowing that he had been there before, he says, But it also felt good to know that he wasnt there now. Children are sometimes a barometer for the troops. If the children smile and wave to them as they pass, they feel pretty sure they are in a good part of the city. If the children don't wave, the troops become more wary of their surroundings. I've met a lot of good people, he says of the area that still amazes him with its filth and debris. He feels the Vernal unit is helping by getting things cleaned up and rebuilt, fortified and protected. The men have built themselves volleyball and horseshoe pits for relaxation. Electronic mail and computers help the troops stay in close contact with their families. Collett has his own laptop, and his considerable computer skills have made him an unofficial photographerhis-toria- n of the unit. At present, he has sent roughly 7,000 digital photos home on his laptop. center has been installed near the troops now. An Iraqi contractor prepared it. The Vernal troops were one of the first groups to get one because of the high involvement the 1457th volunteers for. An cant believe that weve actufun at some of our assignhad ally ments, he says with a smile. Helping at schools and working with Operation Caring Hands gets the troops involved providing poor children with clothing, food, I toys, toothbrushes, clay dough, chalk,anything that we could give them. The parents will dress the children up in their best clothes when they know the American troops are going to be at their school, says Collett. Soldiers must remain armed and protected at all times, and the photos of laughing children playing with soldiers carrying heavy armaments seem strange. We play a lot of charades with the children so that they can understand us and we can understand them. Families approach the soldiers now to help them find and blow up everything from grenades to unexploded missiles. There is a nonchalance over the deadly debris. Collett says they find the ordinance everywhere from front yards to farmers fields. There are parts of guns, gas masks and uniforms all over the place, according to Collett. Having time together has been a welcome holiday celebration for the Colletts. Newborns Nov. 4. 2003, a son was bom to Shawni and Johnny Bowen. He weighed 7 pounds. 9 ounces and will be named Quade Steele Bowen. Nov. 5, 2003, a daughter was bom to Sherri Alexander and Beau Dugan. She weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and will be named Libby Nicole Dugan. Nov. 7, 2003, a son was bom to Maria Jenkins and Keno Tapoof. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and will be named Waumbin Demetrius Wanzit Tapoof. Nov. 8, 2003. a son was bom to Rachel and Marquis Richardson. He weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces and will be named Mitch Marquis Richardson. Nov. 9, 2003, a son was bom to Jodi and W.C. Wilson m. He weighed 5 pounds, 4 ounces and will be named W.C. Cade Wilson IV. Nov. 10, 2003, a son was bom to Mindy Hatch and Scott Winters. He weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and will be named Evan Scott Winters. Nov. 10, 2003, a son was bom to Zandra and Don McArthur. He weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces and will be named Matthew Allen McArthur. 1 p" - POOR |